Sensory Profiles of Chocolate Drinks Made from Commercial Fermented Cocoa Powder and Unfermented Cocoa Beans

Abstract

Polyphenols are the major bioactive compounds of cocoa beans. The addition of unfermented cocoa beans powder is used to enhance the functional properties of the chocolate drink. This study aimed to analyze the sensory profile of chocolate drinks made from a mixture of commercial cocoa powder and non-fermented cocoa beans by the projective mapping method. Seventy-five naive panelists tested four types of chocolate drink formulations and one benchmark (BM). The beverage formulations based on commercial cocoa powder consist of Formulations 1 (F1), F2, F3, F4 namely with the addition of 0, 10%, 20%, and 30% unfermented cocoa powder, respectively. The result showed that samples F1, F2, F3, and F4 had the dominant attributes of chocolate aroma, bitter taste, and bitter aftertaste. Whereas, BM has a dominant sensory profile of chocolate aroma, sweet taste, and sweet aftertaste. The highest value elevation (95o) is the benchmark (commercial chocolate powder drink). The next height value is in sample F1 which is located at an altitude of 20o-30o. Samples F2, F3, and F4 are the samples that have the lowest elevation (20o). Thus, the addition of cocoa powder from unfermented cocoa beans has not been accepted by consumers due to its bitter taste and bitter aftertaste.